https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ves-four-first-round-draft-picks-jimmy-butler The trade was very possible but Thibs would not budge and was being stubborn so it never happened.
I promise you Morey tried everything. He did everything possible to get 3 all stars on the Rockets and it just didn’t happen... it came very close and there was some bad luck (Thibs wouldn’t deal him to Houston) and then Butler decided he wanted his own team in Miami rather than being a sidekick to Harden.... Morey did everything, it just didn’t happen. Had Butler been traded to the Rockets and resigned... the 1-3 would have been Paul/Butler/Harden and we would be competing for titles still and likely would have won one or two.
How? We woulda had to trade Pj and Gorodon or Pj and Capela to make it work. Doesn't necessarily make us a championship team. Math didn't add up cuz we had no salaries to give out. All because our owner is cheap.... The whole point is we coulda turned Anderson Ariza and all those picks into a much better player than Shumpert if we just waited a few years. And that is a fact.
Of course he tried everything he could but he didn't have the assets anymore. We wasted them dumping salaries.... that's my point. I bet he gets it done if we actually make our 2017 pick or 2018 pick. Use those guys in the deal with first rounders and expiring contracts. Just saying we will never know cuz Tillman got impatient and needed money
This is a cop out to avoid the reality that it is statistically fact proven by result that it is rare to win the title without paying the tax. Did we pay the tax? No Whether you believe we were mandated not to, didn’t do it because deals fell apart or didn’t feel like a move that would put us over the tax was worth it in the grand scheme of winning it all. We didn’t. So we tried to do what 5 ever have managed. 2 featured Curry on the most pro team contract possibly ever and 1 featured Lebron. Could they have done it? I think based on what we saw, sure. Especially if Paul didn’t go down. But that doesn’t mean we still didn’t take a less likely path to success.
All of this is based on the idea that the Rockets, as constructed before the CP3 trade, were a team that could win a championship. I do not think so. I do not see a move, other than the Butler pursuit, that would have made them a championship team. Tilman wasn't the only one that ran his mouth about CP3...there were multiple threads here and even a poll that showed most rocket fans at the time agreed that it was a terrible contract. CP3, as of right now, isn't your 2nd best player on a championship team. Taking on additional salary for Westbrook wouldn't have made the team any better because Westbrook was a bad fit and has declined year-to-year. I can't comment on work place culture.
After 10 games? Again, he sucks so bad the Blazers brought him BACK to play another season? They clearly saw the something so bad they gave him another contract. If they're are g- league players better, then why haven't they replaced him? These are simple questions you keep avoiding
Did you read the article? Trading for Butler was very possible, Morey if he isn't anything else is a cap genius, it was very possible to do so and it would have happened if Thibs wasn't a stubborn ass. If Jimmy would have stayed or not is the question. I think so. I think his fears of playing for his hometown team would have meant nothing next to winning rings for his hometown team and yeah it would have taken Gordon. that's nothing Butler while not an MVP player would have complimented CP3/Harden well and most importantly have given the team a fresh start and kept the window open that much longer. The only issue I have is that Jimmy has had lockerroom issues a few places...but it would have been worth the try.
It's not a cop-out because otherwise I feel like people wanted him to pay the tax for no other reason to prove that he could. There is 0 reason to do so if you aren't competing for a championship, so what was the make up of the team? I see it, pre-CP3 trade, as not being good enough. So it then makes sense to me why they didn't want to pay the tax. I see it post-CP3 trade the same...an interesting team and experiment based on if Russ could be a 1B to Harden, nothing more than that. You never believed Harden/Russ was a championship caliber team so what would paying the tax have proved?
How did it turn out to be Thibs, Butler and Carmelo when all this thread is about Cousins parting ways with the rockets? You guys need to daddy chill
Same, I'm a strong supporter but I know that the Rox got Sacremento'd and that killed my NBA mojo. Sactown never won either...
You still missing my point. Soo many stars good players have both traded since. If we had those assets could we have pulled off any deal? We would never know. It woulda put us in the running for. Even if these were all long shots and we couldn't get them. Kawhi Butler PG porzingis AD We still coulda made smaller deals to improve the team and fill major holes. Jerami Grant Otto Porter Drummond Could we have gotten Covington earlier or without having to give up CC? Oubre Wiggins Plenty more out there. Or hypothetically who could we have drafted??
lol you are wasting your time preaching to the guy. He just cant see what everyone else sees...that Melo sucks. Poor guy gets excited when Melo doesnt have a bad game once every few weeks and comes running to post the highlights in the Melo thread in the Dish lol.
Once Russ was here there was no point. Any time before that adding talent that pushed us over the tax could have made us good enough or in the first year of CP3, capable of weathering his injury.
We still had Brandon Knight's ~$15M salary on the book for salary matching, and at the time Butler was only making ~$20M. The trade was very realistic and would not reduce any on-court strength in other positions. It was a perfect all-in attempt in retrospect.
There is a difference between Melo sucks and some people think he sucks. Everyone sees? I don't think so. It was more likely some players didn't want him here.
